Thursday, 8 November 2012

An inexperienced mediocrity becomes Archbishop of Canterbury

*

It seems that a chap called Justin Welby is going to become the leader of the third largest Christian denomination in the world (my denomination...) - a man who makes-up in inexperience what he lacks in distinction; and who - if he fails to display any visible sign of exceptional holiness - is an accomplished bureaucrat.

It is hard to imagine a less inspiring or hopeful choice for the job.

The appointment is an absolutely typical outcome of committee voting, since I doubt if there was any single individual on the panel (or indeed in the whole Anglican Communion) who would have had Welby as their first choice; so we have a person who has the position purely because anybody better met-up-with intransigent opposition.

@Proph - 'meteoric rise' implies that he is some kind of phenomenon, but nothing could be further from the case.

Don't take my word for it - read some of his writings (if you can bear to - they are about the level of public relations copy for a medium sized government department).

A comparison with Benedict XVI is excruciatingly embarrassing in every way - yet up to Michael Ramsay (the last great A of C 1961-74), Anglican Primates were often more impressive figures than their contemporary Popes.